Chapter 91: Heaven and Hell

Another girl had already been petrified by the scene. Moments ago, she had glanced at her phone and heard a friend say that there were luxury cars lined up outside the restaurant, and that all the diners inside had been cleared out. Makao was already a somewhat turbulent place; outwardly calm, it was riddled with constant unrest within.

Just then, the girl who had been scrambling to her feet happened to touch the cards on the gambling table.

To her shock, that pair of twos was not really two cards at all.

She slowly moved her fingers and discovered that beneath the pair of twos lay a nine.

Damn it!

The woman lifted her eyes and looked at the two men.

Zhong Huayan knew she had been exposed. She had borrowed a trick from the art world, stacking three cards of the same suit together so they appeared to be only two, when in fact one was hidden underneath. She had even sat down at the table just now because she was afraid someone would see it.

But at this point, the cards no longer mattered.

She held herself up with the last shred of strength.

“Returning them to Young Master Xu... In war, all is fair. Besides, you fooled me just now too.”

Xu Yaochuan let out a sneer. For the first time, someone had dared to play such a clumsy little trick right under his nose. But given the situation, even that no longer mattered.

Fu Yanyan was also slightly taken aback; this was not something he had expected.

Zhong Huayan felt that neither of these men was any good at all. One crazier than the other.

Fate was like a train that would never stop, only race forward. It had only one destination.

They had already boarded the train to the darkest place in the world, and once it began, it could not be stopped.

Zhong Huayan was very sad. Her hand trembled as she clutched the black hem of her dress. Her hair spilled down to her waist, and the jade-and-diamond hairpin had fallen to the floor. She staggered back a few steps, braced herself on the gambling table with her slender hand, and panted in a sweat-drenched haze. Yet her resentment could not be quelled; no one could truly understand it.

And yet she did not want the only person who had truly been good to her to sacrifice his conscience, to cut off a brighter and freer future, just to secure justice for her. That in itself was unfair.

Then she suddenly felt a splitting pain erupt at the back of her head. This frail body, shaken by the soul-deep ache, began to suffocate from within. She could no longer endure it and collapsed on the spot.

As she fainted, she saw the two men both turn their heads, and, in a blur, someone calling her name.

But it seemed she had fallen into a whirlpool.

A whirlpool called greed, schemes, and desire, a place where one could suffocate for a very, very long time.

Perhaps the salvation she believed in was only the next abyss.

Zhong Huayan dreamed. In the dream, flames surrounded her, slowly devouring her body bit by bit. And in a vast mansion, like a paradise on earth, champagne, fine wine, and lavish poolside feasts filled the air. Everyone was cheering her death, and laughter drifted everywhere.

Was this heaven? Or hell?

She was terrified, but no matter how desperately she struggled, she could not escape the suffocating helplessness of watching herself die little by little. The fire scorched her and never stopped.

Why do the wicked dwell in paradise, while the good are cast into hell?

When she opened her eyes, a shaft of light shone in.

Her lashes trembling, she thought it was still a dream, until she lifted her hand slightly and her elbow knocked against the cabinet.

A burst of sharp, prickling pain instantly cleared her mind.

She was awake.

“Madam! Don’t move, don’t bump yourself. You must be hungry. I’ll have the maid bring the dishes in right away.”

Hongshu’s face came into view. Flustered, she opened the door, and several people pushed a dining cart into the room. Outside, there were traces of Australian-style architecture, and the room’s decor was unlike the one before, because there was no strong fragrance of gardenia.

Instead, there was a heavy scent of sandalwood, the kind that lingers after incense has been burned in worship, and even Hongshu carried the smell of smoke on her clothes. Her sense of smell had always been keen. With the breeze, she looked out the window. Outside stood the buildings of the Makao MGM Hotel.

“Madam, please have a look. Which dish would you like?”

“Whatever. Bring me a bowl of congee, some celery stir-fried with pork, tuna, fish balls, and foie gras, the fatty part. I don’t like the lean kind.”

Lin Hongshu nodded obediently. On her wrist she wore a purple gemstone bracelet, a gift Zhong Huayan had given her some days ago.

The purple gem gleamed in the light, yet it was not as clear and bright as the girl’s eyes.

Zhong Huayan had always felt that Hongshu possessed a quality city girls often lacked. She knew her place, was plain-spoken, kind-hearted, timid, and never ostentatious.

After eating, she turned on her phone. She had originally planned to start a livestream, but today she happened to receive a private message instead.

It was from a fan in Makao, who sent pictures of more than twenty treasures, front and back. After opening a video call to verify them, she confirmed that they were antiques lost from China over the course of several years to several thousand years, all now abroad. Among them were works such as Dragonfly and Chrysanthemum by Qi Baishi, Insect on a Banyan Leaf, Clearing Snow After the Rain by Wu Hufan, Summer Mountains and Secluded Dwelling by Zhang Daqian, a jade rising-sun ornament from the Qing Qianlong reign, and a white-jade finger ring with imperial verse from the Qing Jiaqing reign...

She first made a visual appraisal, and nearly all of them seemed authentic. But because the objects dated back so far, they would need to be brought back and examined carefully. Many antiques that had returned from overseas had been restored abroad, and their provenance was often difficult to trace.

“Hongshu, take a few bodyguards to this residential address and call this number. Then recover these items and donate them to the country. Let’s count it as doing a good deed.”

Zhong Huayan handed Hongshu a card worth tens of millions.

“There’s no password. I just founded a company that specializes in recovering Chinese antiques from overseas. There are fifty million in this card; consider it the company’s registered capital. Later, you can first pay a fifty-million deposit, and remember to have him sign a contract. Then bring the antiques back, and I’ll have people restore and authenticate them again.”

Hongshu held the card in her hands, trembling slightly. For the first time in her life, she was carrying fifty million.

“Madam, this...”

“Hongshu, take it as practical experience. The first time is unfamiliar; the second time, you’ll be used to it. The money on this card will be kept by you. Handle the excess interest and other funds as you see fit. For my newly established company, you are now the only finance officer and manager. This is an opportunity. Treasure it.”

Hongshu looked as if she might cry. She thanked her over and over in gratitude, even changing how she addressed her—from Madam to Boss.

For someone like her, from the countryside, from a family so poor they struggled even to eat and survived on welfare, to one day be appreciated like this...

Zhong Huayan did not mind. After all, Fu Yanyan lacked nothing but money now.

So let this money flow into the capital market. Otherwise, they might as well do some good deeds, give young people more opportunities, donate more antiques to the country, and accumulate some blessings for Fu Yanyan too.

Following the arrangement, Hongshu took the card, called a few bodyguards and a driver, and set out to work.

Supported by the other servants, Zhong Huayan walked outside.

Sure enough, this should have been the second villa under the Fu Group in Makao.

What made it different was that this place was not styled after a purely Western aesthetic; instead, it carried a strong local flavor.

She wore a beige dress and an expensive pair of slippers, her hair loose around her shoulders. She walked to a shrine enshrining Guan Yu, with rows of antique Buddha and Guanyin statues on either side, their golden and bronze radiance flashing through the hall.

Fu Yanyan emerged from the shrine wearing a black Tang-style robe, a finger ring on his hand. His features were cool and sharp, yet his bearing remained refined. He wore a pair of designer sneakers, his hair combed back to reveal his forehead, making him appear all the more noble and aloof. Sitting in a huanghuali chair, he rested one hand lightly on a smiling green Tara statue from the Kangxi reign.

“Ahuan, this is the local commissioner here in Makao.”

After saying that, he deliberately swept his gaze over her from head to toe, and only after confirming that she was in good health did he let a smile appear.